System for continuous heating and metal-rolling.



- Patente'd .lune I0, |902. T. v. ALLls. i SYSTEM F03 CNTINUUUS HEATING AND METALBULLING.

(Application led Feb. l, 1901. Renewed Apr. 30, 1902.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR.

WITNESSES.

UNITED STATES IUxTi-ZNTN OFFICE.

THOMAS V. ALLIS, vOF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE INTERNATIONAL TIN PLATE CORPORATION, A

CORPORATION ,OF NEW JERSEY.

SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS HEATING ANO METAL-ROLLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,084, dated .Tune 10, y1902.

Application filled february 1 1901. Renewed April 30, 1902. Serial No. 105,297. (No model.) l

T0 a/ZZ whom t may concern.: w

Be it known that l, THOMAS V. ALLIS, a citizen of the United, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of'Fairield and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improved System for Continuous Heating and Metal-Rolling, of which the following is a specification. f

My invention is an improved system for continuous heating and metal-rolling, to be fully set forth in the following specification.

To enable others to understand my invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of three furnaces mounted upon a section of longitudinal track, also reciprocating mechanism for operating said furnaces back and forth on said track to consecutively deliver their contents Ofheated metal to a rolling-mill, not shown. Fig. 2 is an upper plan view of the system represented at Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a de- 'tail side elevation, partly in section, of the gas-drum and broken View of the flexible gastube leading vfrom the drum to the furnaces. Fig. 4 is an enlarged central sectional view of the gas-chamber and journals of the gasdrum and broken view of the gas-supply pipe leading into such chamber and the deliverypipe leading therefrom.

The construction and operation are as follows:

1, 2, and 3 are; furnaces mounted on the track 4.

5 is an endless cable passing over'the small drum 6 and the rear pulley 7. One endof this is connected to the front end of the forward furnace and the other end to the rear end of the last furnace. This drum is shown as being operated by the electric motori Sand riphery for theflexible gas-tube l5. One end of this tube is connected to the upper end of the pipe 16 on thefront end of the forward furnace 1, and from thence the gas is conveyed to the other `furnaces by the pipes 15a, while the otherend of said pipe is connected (see also Fig. 3) to the drum by coupling to the short radial pipe 17, leading into the gas,-

this supply-pipe into the chamber 18 and from thence (see arrows) into the short radial pipe 17, communicating, as before mentioned, with the Iiexible pipe 15. A swivel -joint (not shown) may be connected to the supplypipe 23, outside of the journal 21, to pre- `vent the twisting of said pipe when the drum rotates.

The operation is asfollows: The charged contents of the fnrnacesbeing fully heated for rolling and furnacel being in feeding alinement with the rolls 24, its contents are trans-v ferred thereto. When transferred, furnace 2 is brought into position by the mechanism above described for also transferring its contents to the rolling-mill While furnacel is being recharged. After furance 2 is discharged furnace 3 is brought forward to the rolls, and furnace 2 is being recharged while furnace 3 is discharging. Thus the cycle of operation of heating, charging, and rolling is constant.

When these furnaces are moved forward, the

iexible gas-tubey will be wound about the large drum 14, throngh'the medium of the weight 19 and cable20. The tube is wound with wire, so as to prevent compression,which would interrupt the flow of gas when the tube ,is wound upon the drum. When the furnaces are drawn back, the reverse movement of theA is a grounded tube through which the cable passes; but this is not a necessary feature of the system.

In the practice of my invention I do not Wish to be confined to any number of furnaces employed, as they may be increased or decreased, as required for varying thicknesses of metal to be heated, thicker metal requiring a greater number of furnaces. The only delay in rolling will occur during the short time consumed in returning all of the furnaces to the starting-point and the time necessary to bring a charged furnace up to the rolls after the one preceding it has been discharged.

Havng thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Theherein-describedsystemforcontinu ous heating and metal-rolling, which consists of one or more furnaces mounted on a section of track running at right angles to the feeding-line of a rolling-mill situated in close proximity to said furnaces, means for reciprocally propelling said furnaces; a flexible tube for conveying fuel-gas to said furnaces connected therewith and to a winding-drum and communicating with an interior gaschamber in said drum, and a gas-supply pipe communicating with said chamber, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the system herein shown and described, of a rotating drum, a gas-chamber in said drum, means whereby gas is supplied to said chamber, a iiexible gas-delivery tube communicating with said chamber and the furnaces, and an operatingcable connected to said drum, with means adapted to rotate the drum and wind up the flexible gas-delivery tube when the furnaces are moving in one direction, and to unwind said exible tube when the furnaces are moving in the opposite direction, for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this th day of January, A. D. 190i.

THOMAS V. ALLIS.

Witnesses:

JOHN B. CLAPP, GEO. E. HEBBARD. 

